“You know you’re an example to aspire to, don’t you? You give them an opportunity to express themselves that they wouldn’t have otherwise, you know that? Because you’re always there, ready to listen to ‘em. You never shy away from difficult subjects. They know they can trust you. That’s a rarity. You are my wife, and I am damn proud of you.”

“There is not a person in the world that could do this except for you. This is what you do. I’ve seen you do it with my own eyes. I believe in you. I believe in you with every cell in my being.”

If nothing else, the first season established thatFriday Night Lights was anchored not by the players, but by the Taylors, a husband-wife, best-friend pairing unlike anything else on TV. Teegarden: Nobody’s relationship is perfect, and that was always the good thing with the Taylors. Every time a script came out, Connie and Kyle would go through it together. They’d say things like, “Our relationship is solid at the end of the day.” It was really admirable.Britton: We just got really lucky. That first day, we were kind of cracking jokes and making each other laugh at the goofiest, dorkiest things, which we then proceeded to do for the next five years. We just kind of instantly got each other and sort of shared the same values about how we wanted to play that marriage and who we each wanted to be in it. Chandler: I think throughout most of the show, it always ended up that Eric’s wife was right in the long run. [Laughs.] What I liked were the scenes that they shared silence, where they were feeling the other out or discussing the family moving or money or loss, and they do their talking by just looking at one another. There aren’t many shows that I’ve done that allow you that silence on screen, and it wound up being so powerful. These are two people with history. They know each other that well.Katims: The ongoing theme of the show has been about family and, especially, surrogate families. Eric and Tami have nurturing relationships with the teens in the school and on the team, and it’s all rooted in the strength of their own marriage. The compromises, the friendship, the love.

TAMI: Hi y'all, I’m here to talk to you a little bit about Coach Eric Taylor, and you all know him as your leader, your kind of father figure, hard ass guy screaming at ya from the sidelines, but there’s a whole other kind of Eric Taylor that I know that maybe y'all don’t know and I’d just like to share that with you a little bit so let me start with what I’ve learned from him as a human being. I mean, what he has brought to me as a person…the Power I, the nickel defense, the 3-4, the 4-3, and of course the spread formation. The ways I have grown since I have been with this man could fill a stadium! Then there’s Eric Taylor the family man. We have wonderful Sunday mornings together…watching game film. Saturday afternoons with our daughter, watching game film. Oh, and then Taylor Tuesday where we’ll have a pizza delivered and play Scrabble and then watch some game film. I want to tell you all, he’s a very busy man, y'all keep him very very busy, but he is also a sensitive and caring husband, and he will take me out for quiet, romantic evenings, just the two of us, and we’ll commonly be heard shouting things like “Pick up the blitz!” or “Hit and drive!” and my favorite “Go for two!” Seriously, Eric Taylor is a kind and decent man and he’s strong, and he has vision, and he’s passionate, and he’s real good at impartin’ that passion into the hearts of the people around him, and he loves y'all kids. Every single one of y'all. I just want to tell you how much you all have touched us, and how important y'all are to us, how deeply we care about you, and so thank y'all from our whole family. Thank you.

Eric: We done fighting?Tami: Uh huh.Eric: I love you. I respect you. I am proud of you. I am in love with you completely.

Eric and Tami. As if I could answer anything else for this. Consistently said to be the best and most realistic marriage on television and with good reason; they have their fights, they have their problems but they love and respect each other and always work through it, together. It’s a marriage of equals, two people who are there for each other every step of the way. Kyle and Connie made this one of the most, if not the most, beautiful relationship on television.

Eric and Tami Taylor from Friday Night Lights. These two are pretty much the perfect couple, and it’s because they’re so real and believable. I would always think, “I want a marriage like this” but they still fought, quite a bit. They had plenty of issues, but they always worked through them, one always apologized. It’s the perfect marriage.

Eric: You know it’s not lost on me that I owe you a date.Tami: Oh, it’s not lost on me either, honey.Eric: While we may not be the McCoy’s, I also realise that our relationship needs nurturing.Tami: [laughs]Eric: What you laughing at?Tami: You’re funny. [laughs] Nuturing. Eric: I’m not trying to be funny. I’m being serious.Tami: Well honey, I love you to pieces for that. Honey, go left.Eric: What?Tami: Go left.Eric: Why? Where we going now?Tami: Honey, you’ll see. [The Taylors arrive at the lake]Tami: Oh man. Oh that’s gorgeous. So beautiful. Ring any bells for ya, hon? Eric: Hmmmm. Tami: Mmm. Remember our fir-, okay not our first date but our first date? Eric: That’d be our first date or our first date?Tami: Our first date.Eric: I vaguely remember.Tami: Do you? Do you vaguely remember? I wanna remind you a little bit. [She kisses Eric, whilst kissing him] I mean it’s been a long time. And you’re all old, you’re all old and crotchety. [Eric laughs] Eric: Damn, I love you. Tami: Damn, I love you too, Babe.

4.09 The Lights of Carroll Park

Aside from this scene that I already mentioned and every other Eric and Tami scene in the series, I chose this one. Why? Well I like it cause Eric admits that the relationship needs nurturing and also because it mentions their early relationship, their first date and their first date date. I always liked the little tidbits we got of their early days together and this scene is particularly good for it. By this point in the series, Kyle and Connie know their characters and their relationship very well and it shows.

This scene killed me. The dialogue isn’t very elaborate but it’s all in the acting. Those three? They don’t need lines to make us feel something, they’re that good. And that long look they exchanged? So good, so many emotions in that look. I missed you show.